This is one of the novels I really enjoyed writing because much of it is set in Madrid which is one of my favourite cities. Because of this I decided to use paintings by Spanish painters as the chapter headings for this book.

I’m a big fan of Joan Miró, the artist born in Barcelona. His work is very distinctive, bright and he not only painted on canvas but also worked with glass and tapestry. I’ve used lots of his paintings in the book including in the final chapter, Hair Dishevelled by the Fleeing Constellation, from his Constellations series

http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/miro/p-miro13.htm

Francisco Goya was the court painter to the Spanish royal family back in the 18^th century and most of his work isn’t really suitable for Isobel’s Wedding. However one of his early works is  a painting called ‘The Wedding’ (La Boda) and I’ve included as the title for the first chapter; although Goya’s take on it was satirical; it was an arranged wedding and the bride was beautiful but the groom ugly – he was rich and she was poor…..

http://www.franciscodegoya.net/The-Wedding.html

Picasso is probably best known for his cubist paintings (and possibly his blue period) although he went through quite a number of different styles. A painting you wouldn’t associate with him at all heads up Chapter 3 in the book and is called ‘Women Running on a Beach’. It’s an almost cartoonish work of two large ladies but captures a level of freedom and joy which Isobel, at this point in the book, doesn’t exactly have!

http://www.abcgallery.com/P/picasso/picasso197.html

Salvador Dalí would never have been one of my favourite Spanish artists but one of his early paintings, very atypical of him, is Girl Standing at the Window which he painted in 1925. It’s a very traditional painting of a girl looking out an open window at the sea. There’s something about the way she’s standing, and the tone of the painting that’s both restful and thought provoking. And although the style is traditional, it’s also very simple. I used it for Chapter 29.

http://www.soho-art.com/cgi-bin/shop/shop.pl?fid=1034380391&cgifunction=form